Brontide
by yesterdaysLuminary
Summary: "Run, run...cling to life and survive in an unsightly way."  "...Hai, nii-san. I will cling to life and assist others to do the same."  Medic!Sasuke. AU, but follows canon events. T for safety. R&R please.
1. Arc 1, Chapter 1: Hospital Stay

**Brontide **by Finito-Arcobaleno

_"Run, run…cling to life and survive in an unsightly way."_

_"…Yes, nii-san. I will cling to life, but also assist others to do the same."_

* * *

><p><strong>Arc 1, Chapter 1: Hospital Stay<strong>

* * *

><p>The first sight that Sasuke sees after constant images of bright red flowers blossoming from the backs and abdomens of his Uchiha relatives is the white ceiling. For a moment he blinks at the sudden change, wondering whether he was still in his brother's genjutsu or not, before realising that he was in the Konoha hospital. He felt tired and exhausted mentally. His brother had just killed everyone in the clan, but had left him. Why? There had to be a reason for Itachi to do so, apart from 'to test his capacity'. He wanted to think more on that, but his thoughts were interrupted by a nurse who came in. She started.<p>

"Head Doctor Yakushi, please come! The Last Uchiha is awake!"

The man himself came striding in almost immediately. He wore the usual medic garb, with a pair of black, round spectacles perched on his forehead. Walking towards Sasuke, he pulled out a pen from one of his pockets and held out a clipboard.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Eight years old. The ANBU found you unconscious at the crime scene. We suspect that you have been subjected to a genjutsu. Could you please tell us what happened?"

His throat felt dry, what little of his saliva was thick, and his tongue seemed weighted to the floor of his mouth. It felt like he hadn't spoken for days. He probably hadn't. There was so much to think about, so much to explain. His thoughts had been muddled and the events seemed disjointed and out of place with each other. But he was able to say the one sentence that explained everything.

_"Itachi killed everyone."_

If Head Doctor Yakushi was startled by the fact that the loyal Itachi had slaughtered his entire family in cold blood and became a S-Rank missing-nin, he didn't show any of it on his face, keeping it blank. Scribbling the quote down, he then placed the pen back into his pocket and told Sasuke that he was going to stay the week here, just because they did not know what kind of genjutsu he had experienced and they needed him there just in case of any advert side effects. A psychology examination was also organized to be conducted later on.

* * *

><p>After passing that exam, where he was asked annoying questions about how he felt and other trivial items like it, he was cleared to be mentally sound and only traumatized by the incident, which, according to the examiner, should clear up over time. But that was probably the only interesting thing for the whole week.<p>

Sasuke was bored. They didn't let him outside too often, and although there was the occasional roommate that was wheeled in due to the fact that there wasn't enough space for only a single patient per room, they usually left in a few hours. A nurse, the same nurse that he first saw upon waking up, brought in the food every day, along with various piles of gifts from fan girls – which he promptly ordered to be burned. No use getting attached to anyone like before. He didn't want to be reminded of his strong bond with his brother which was severed so suddenly. Itachi was going to come back one day, and Sasuke did not wish to have any weakness to hinder him.

Upon the night before his release from the hospital, when he was about to fall asleep, he heard the Head Doctor and opened his eyes to see him. This time, the doctor's face was screwed up with panic, completely unlike what Sasuke saw when he was first admitted. It made the shadows on his face more defined, and made him look older than what he originally seemed. He was running alongside a hospital bed, wheeled by five others.

"Take him to an operating theatre immediately!"

"But sir! We don't have any theatres that are free!"

"Then take him to this room! There's only one patient here!"

The mysterious man was wheeled into Sasuke's room. He quickly closed his eyes, but the sight lingered, and he shuddered as the amount of splotchy red dredged up memories of the Massacre. He seemed to be about twenty, but it was hard to tell with all the medics that surrounded him, along with his mop of grey hair (was that supposed to be natural for his age?). Blood had stained the bandages that were wrapped haphazardly around his torso, and a trail of blood splattered the formerly pristine tiles of the hospital floor. But what really stood stark against Sasuke's image were his uniform, mask, and the tattoo on his left bicep.

He was a member of the ANBU. And from the amount of fussing Sasuke perceived by the doctors, he was most likely an ANBU Captain. Sasuke wondered what kind of mission had caused such grievous injury upon someone as skilled as an ANBU.

"We must put up the screens, sir! The Last Uchiha is here!"

"Never mind the screens! This man is only just clinging to life here. We can give him privacy later! Right now, surgery must be conducted!"

_Foolish little brother, if you want to kill me, despise me, hate me. Run, run…cling to life and survive in an unsightly way._

'Could I truly hate you, from the deepest pits of my heart? You must've had some reason for killing everyone, because you always had preached to me about peace. But…hai, nii-san. I will cling to life, just like this man here, and I will grow to avenge the clan. You want me to do this. However, I will not stoop to your level to survive. I will also assist others to cling to life as well.' Sasuke thought.

Sasuke opened his eyes in defiance, ignoring the amount of red liquid that filled his vision, and watched the medics heal the man with hands laden with a jade green shade of chakra, potent with healing properties. They were so concentrated on their work, on helping to save lives, with beads of sweat over their brows and their lips pressed into a thin line to display just how much effort they had put into saving each and every one of their patients. They didn't even wince at the severity of the wound!

The surgery was over, and the man was left there for the night. The medics did not notice that Sasuke was awake, and that he had seen the whole operation. It was like a miracle to behold, seeing a wound seemingly close up on itself, the healing accelerated to seal the large abrasions that had once shredded the man's entire stomach.

He wanted to be like that, to save other people's lives.

Sasuke wanted to be a medic-nin.

**-tbc-**

* * *

><p>And…done! I've finally succumbed to my plot-bunnies, after my vow to avoid investing time with writing fanfiction until the end of year holidays. And I was so close! But no, mid-term break had to come and I had literally nothing to do for four days except read fanfiction. Before I knew it, I had managed to plan out two arcs of this story in about an hour. I'd originally planned 6 chapters for this arc, but after realising just how much I had put into just this chapter, I believe that the entire arc should only take about 3-4 chapters. That would cover Sasuke's life up until the Genin graduation.<p>

Reviews are welcome. Please do so, because I need all the help in writing skills that I can get due to the fact that I am only 13.

**The Medic-nin/Doctor!Sasuke idea was inspired by Aoi24's 'The Medic',** who sent my plot-bunny on a high and made it rampage around my head. Read that one first, because there are many parts of it where I've gotten an inspiration from.

The Naruto franchise belongs to TV Tokyo and Masashi Kishimoto. Medic-nin!Sasuke is inspired by Aoi24. I do not own the aforementioned things. However, the story belongs to me.

Word Count: 1,121 words


	2. Arc 1, Chapter 2: Studying with Yakushis

**Brontide **by Finito-Arcobaleno

_"Run, run…cling to life and survive in an unsightly way."_

_"…Yes, nii-san. I will cling to life, but also assist others to do the same."_

* * *

><p><strong>Arc 1, Chapter 2: Studying with the Yakushi<strong>

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><p>Sasuke met with the Head Doctor this morning, after the operation with the ANBU. The ANBU in mention was currently sleeping off the injury in the hospital bed next to him. The bloodstains on the floor were gone, mopped up sometime during the night when Sasuke had succumbed to slumber. The Head Medic sat down on a stool placed beside Sasuke's bed.<p>

"Hello, my name is Doctor Yakushi, and I'm the head medic here. I've deemed you fit to be released from the hospital today. The Hokage has lent you some money and rented an apartment to live in temporarily while the Uchiha Compound…is unavailable. You may change out of the hospital gown you are currently wearing, and you can pick up your old clothes at the reception."

"…" Sasuke was silent.

"May I enquire about your silence, Uchiha-san?" Yakushi asked.

Sasuke fidgeted, and then blurted out his request. "I want to be a medic-nin and I want you to be my sensei."

Yakushi blinked. There were no ninja that would outright desire to become a medic-nin straight off the bat, especially when they had only just begun learning how to be a ninja at the Academy. But this was the Last Uchiha, who most certainly would already have learnt the basic required Academy skills before he even started there, due to his upbringing in the clan. However, Yakushi knew that the skills of the small boy in front of him would be more suited to that of a ninjutsu specialist.

"Why?" was the simple question that the doctor asked.

"Because I want to cling to life and help others to do the same." Was the cryptic reply.

Yakushi gave Sasuke a long, hard stare.

"Did you see or hear the operation last night?"

Sasuke adverted his gazed and looked to the wall, staring at it. He didn't want the image of blood to cause his muscles to seize up again. He failed to supress the trembling at the thought. The doctor noticed this.

"I see. You seem to have mild case of haemophobia. Are you certain that you would be able to stand the sight of blood to do an acceptable job at healing others? That cannot be avoided indefinitely."

Sasuke clenched the sheets between his fingers, his knuckles turning white with the strain. "I…I want to help. I don't want the nightmares I have to be received by anyone else."

A moment of silence ensued, with the medic contemplating his words and Sasuke waiting in tense anticipation. Then the medic stood up and brushed his coat to clear some non-existent dust.

"Very well, Uchiha-san. I will teach you the basics of medical knowledge, but to advance further, I request that you seek guidance from others. You wish to be trained as a battlefield medic, and I do not have the abilities to teach you this. I am only a medic at a hospital, after all. Come with me, I will take you to my place, where you may begin looking at the scrolls of the human body."

Sasuke's face lit up, and followed the man. He grabbed the old clothing he wore from the reception desk, and changed into them. The Head Doctor, no, Yakushi-sensei, led him to his home.

* * *

><p>They had met a young boy with grey hair running out of the house. Sasuke recalled that Yakushi-sensei had told him that this genin was his adoptive son. Spectacles, much like the one Yakushi-sensei wore, were worn on the boy's nose.<p>

"Father, you're back! It's been ages! Who did you bring?" The boy smiled up at the doctor, clearly adoring the man. Yakushi-sensei smiled back at the twelve year old, and Sasuke frowned. He wished that his father acted like that to him. But they were gone now, and there was no use mourning over what could've been a happy family.

His attention turned back to the two as Yakushi-sensei mentioned his name. "Uchiha Sasuke wishes to learn about medicines from me. As you know, I'm a very busy man, so I think you can teach him a little while I'm at work. He's just going to learn about the human body for the moment."

Kabuto looked over at Sasuke. There something in his eyes that prompted suspicion from Sasuke, almost as if he was calculating his potential. But then the emotion that Kabuto had unwittingly expressed fled, and he smiled at Sasuke. Sasuke passed the weird look as Kabuto wanting to see how well he would go in the study.

"Hello Sasuke-san. If you don't know me already, I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I hope we become good friends. I've been studying under my father for a while already, so I think we would work together well."

Kabuto stretched out his right arm for a handshake. Sasuke accepted the greeting, and they went off to look at the scrolls. There was a screech of exasperation.

"Just how many scrolls on the human body are there in here?"

"Oh, we only have about fifty. There's about three times as many in the hospital for apprentices too. We can look at them later."

Sasuke almost howled at the amount of time that would be needed, but grumbled and resigned himself to his fate. Yakushi chuckled. Who said becoming a medic, much less one suited on the battlefield, would be easy?

* * *

><p>Sasuke felt like his eyes have dried out from the amount of text that he was forced to read. He swore that even learning the Grand Fireball technique would've taken less time. He was most certainly glad when the sky began to darken and he was forced to be escorted to his new apartment by Yakushi-sensei.<p>

His apartment was located in the opposite direction of the Uchiha Compound. Sasuke thanked the Sandaime Hokage in his thoughtfulness. It wasn't in the height of luxury, but it wasn't filled with rats either. He could see that the Hokage had tried his best into getting a good one for an orphan.

Plain and simple, was what described the place. It had cream walls, cream ceiling, one window and one ceiling light. The bed sheets were white with blue stripes, and the kitchen was stocked with fresh food. It was good enough for him.

Eating a quick meal of instant ramen, disliking the taste but not willing to spend time on actually trying to operate the stove for the first time, he finished and sat on his bed, pulling out the scrolls he was allowed to take from the Yakushi household. He would need a bookshelf soon.

He unrolled one, and began to read. Despite his earlier complaints, the human body was fascinating, and at least each scroll talked about a different thing from the others. It was beginning to get late, but he didn't stop reading until the early hours in the morning. He didn't want nightmares to surface.

He fell asleep quickly, but they lurked, and the agonized screams of his mother echoed in his mind the whole time. And the red eyes' pupils didn't stop whirling around.  
><strong>-tbc-<strong>

* * *

><p>Am I on a roll? I don't really know. I'm glad to see everyone taking an interest in this. Hope I really don't disappoint anyone here.<p>

Filler-ish chapter here, but basically I kind of need this here. My estimate is that there would be about two more chapters before going onto the genin graduations and Wave arc, where chapters should reach monstrous lengths (at least, in my opinion).

Naruto does not belong to me. It is owned my Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. **Medic!Sasuke is inspired by Aoi24**. I do not own the aforementioned things. However, the story belongs to me.

Word Count: 1,175  
>Total Word Count: 2,296<p> 


	3. Arc 1, Chapter 3: Friends of Solitude?

**Brontide **by Finito-Arcobaleno

_"Run, run…cling to life and survive in an unsightly way."_

_"…Yes, nii-san. I will cling to life, but also assist others to do the same."_

* * *

><p><strong>Arc 1, Chapter 3: Friends of Solitude?<strong>

* * *

><p>Sasuke found that the nightmares were not as painful and terrifying when there was someone who would listen at your recollection of such hallucinations. Kabuto, despite Sasuke originally being wary of him, was a good listener. He didn't ask questions or give his condolences, but rather gave Sasuke a fresh perspective to view his mind from. Over the two years with people like Yakushi-sensei to tide him over his pain, and Kabuto becoming a close confidant and friend, such occurrences that caused him to wake up screaming lessened, until they almost completely disappeared.<p>

Sasuke may have learnt all about the body, including the human brain and the theory of why it functions the way it did, but his information of the human mind was scarce. Being stuck in a library with a Kabuto, who most certainly didn't want to be disturbed when he was reading, caused Sasuke to lack the general social interactions that was normal for one of his age. Hence came along Yakushi-sensei's brilliant idea.

"Why don't you go back to the Academy, Sasuke-kun?"

Theoretically, it was brilliant. Sasuke needed the basic taijutsu and ninjutsu training that a medic could not provide very well, and he also needed to make friends. There were a great many that went literally insane and twisted from the solitude, Orochimaru being one of them.

On the other hand, this was not such a brilliant idea. Sasuke had no interest in the benefits of acquiring friendship circles, preferring to bury himself in medical scrolls and regularly practice his Katon jutsus. It would be hard to pull him out of his habitual seclusion.

After a great deal of pestering, Sasuke finally relented. The benefits far out-weighed the negatives, and Yakushi was certain that he had mostly gotten over his grief for the deaths of his relatives over these two years. It was a time to start over.

Too bad Sasuke didn't want to build fragile bonds of friendship with anyone, when his brother would easily be able to tear them apart. Sasuke needed Itachi to be dead before something like that occurred.

* * *

><p>"Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke. I was in your class about two years ago, but I was pulled out from the Academy. It will be nice to meet you all."<p>

Glancing around, he noticed that not much had changed. There was still the Nara, who was currently looking outside the window, not paying much attention to class. He would most likely be still near the bottom of the class in terms of written examinations. The Akimichi was still, eating a packet of chips, with the Yamanaka girl sitting next to him giving him disgusted glances.

Shino used to be a good friend of his, and he was in his usual spot. No expression gave any indication was what he was thinking.

There were a great many girls ogling at him. Sasuke highly doubted there was a deep reason why they were even here. Some authority was being exerted by Yamanaka Ino and that pink-haired girl who came from a civilian family, Haruno Sakura. But they were doing almost exactly what all the other girls were doing as well. He disliked them, hating dead weights and being useless people. Hyuuga Hinata, one of the only girls that didn't seem to give anything other than a cursory glance and a polite welcoming nod, seemed more reserved, and that relaxed Sasuke a little because it reminded him of Kabuto.

Inuzuka Kiba sat near the back, and was chattering loudly with a blond boy who was just as raucous. Well, that was new. Sasuke was sure that this boy had not been in his classes before. Before he could question this person's identity, the youth in question leapt onto the desk with a resounding thud and pointed his finger at him.

"You are weaker than me! For I will be the one to become Hokage one day, and no one is as strong as I am! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebyo!"

Wait, what? Sasuke hadn't even said anything to annoy him! This Uzumaki, he decided, was a prick who was just blowing hot air. He wore an orange jumpsuit, which was unbefitting of a ninja unless they had a death wish. However, the boy seemed to have something to prove with such a large goal. He ignored the blonde for now, and took a seat next to Shino.

"Okay class, we'll be learning about on the founding of Konoha today…"

Judging by the amount of inattention made by the students, it was evident that this teacher knew next to nothing about controlling a class. Why did Sasuke even agree to attend a place where he would learn nothing?

He took out the scroll on poisons and antidotes that Kabuto had gifted him a week ago, and began to immerse himself in it. Shino remained respectfully silent about his insubordination, and Sasuke was glad for that.

* * *

><p>Sasuke observed Naruto after Academy had finished. Kabuto had a C-rank mission outside of the village and wouldn't be back until the end of the week, and Yakushi-sensei was too overloaded with his schedule right now to teach Sasuke, leaving him bored.<p>

Naruto had gone to the park closest to the Academy afterschool with all the other students. He had sat on the swings and watched as all the others were picked up by their parents, until no one except Naruto was left. He didn't seem to be waiting for anybody. Was he an orphan too?

Naruto's large grin disappeared into a frown the moment the last of the children were gone. A person who hid his true feelings of loneliness behind a mask of optimism, Sasuke decided. Perhaps that act in class was merely an act to cause people to underestimate him. He looked it he was a person who had lived in near solitude his whole life. Sasuke became a loner from the Uchiha Massacre. Could they become friends? Mutual companions who understood the feeling of being alone?

_Nah,_ Sasuke decided. A prick was a prick, and Sasuke wasn't quite sure that he would be able to stand someone as boisterous as Naruto, even if it was a façade, a made-up image. There was no reason to stay there any longer, if it was only to watch a boy sit on the swings. He had wasted a great deal of valuable study time already. He left.

_Why does one need friendship when their skills could already take them to the top?_ Sasuke contemplated, as he continued his analysis of the poisons and antidotes scroll in front of him. Perhaps he should obtain a scroll based on psychology and read that instead. The human mind was indeed confusing, and that was one of the reasons why Yakushi-sensei suggested that he left it until later.

**-tbc-**

* * *

><p>So Sasuke and Naruto meet! And they don't become friends *evil cackle*. They really can't build a solid friendship straightaway, so I'd like to emphasis on that.<p>

A time-skip has occurred. I want to breeze over this arc quickly, because basically I'm only just trying to build up some sort of history and personality of Sasuke. Another time-skip with occur between this chapter and the next. I hope nobody minds that at all. I'll try my best to post the next chapter tomorrow, but after that, well, school's gonna start again and I probably won't be able to update this for about 2-3 weeks. Sorry about that. I'll try and get this introductory arc complete before then, though.

The Naruto franchise belongs to TV Tokyo and Masashi Kishimoto. **Medic-nin!Sasuke is inspired by Aoi24**. I do not own the aforementioned things. However, the story belongs to me.

Word count: 1,136  
>Total word count: 3,432<p> 


	4. Arc 1, Chapter 4: Twisted Genin

**Brontide **by Finito-Arcobaleno

_"Run, run…cling to life and survive in an unsightly way."_

_"…Yes, nii-san. I will cling to life, but also assist others to do the same."_

* * *

><p><strong>Arc 1, Chapter 4: Twisted Genin<strong>

* * *

><p>Learning about medicine and being able to apply it? Check. Going back to the Academy to socialise and learn about the history of Konoha? Check, though being social was not something that Sasuke placed much emphasis on. But finding someone who was willing to help him learn close-range taijutsu? Well, that was a little bit tricky.<p>

Yakushi-sensei had always said that the enemy would attack the medic of the team first, that the medic shouldn't use much chakra when defending, lest they run out while healing. Taijutsu and the ability to wield senbon with startling proficiency are generally all the medics had in their defence arsenal.

Kabuto have him a set of senbon for his eleventh birthday. Sasuke still was unable to use it for anything other than acupuncture, and he figured that a little help wouldn't hurt. He needed to be able to throw them at least with some accuracy, and using it was completely different from how one would throw a kunai.

Speaking of kunai, Sasuke found that the ones he had were rather old and worn from constant practice, and required a few new ones. And he heard that there had been some new weapons store that had opened up while he was still under intense tutelage from Yakushi-sensei. Perhaps he could go there and check some of them out?

* * *

><p>The Uchiha kid walked in today, heading for the section of kunai near the front of the store, before his eye got caught on the packs of senbon that were on sale. Tenten narrowed her eyes. It was interesting to see that the boy has an interest for weapon that specialised in accuracy rather than brute force. It was only pure luck that Uchiha had come into her parents' weapons store the day she had been forced into looking after it by managing the register. He picked up a few items; senbon sale set included, and came over.<p>

"That would be totalling to 5000 ryo, please. And here's the holster that came with the senbon offer. Uchiha Sasuke, was it? I think I've seen you around the Academy last year."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in question to the wording of her statement. "Last year? So you're on a genin team?"

Tenten grinned in pride. "Yup! I'm with Hyuuga Neji and this kid called Rock Lee, with our jounin instructor Gai-sensei. Lee's not from any sort of clan and he can't utilize his chakra for some reason, but he wants to be a ninja based solely on taijutsu. And he's pretty good at it too, almost defeating Neji's Jyuuken!"

_The Uchiha looks surprised_, Tenten mused. But it was understandable. The Hyuuga clan's Jyuuken style was to be feared, especially when used by a well-known prodigy like Neji. If a ninja who was unable to use chakra was almost on par with someone like him, then it is obvious to assume that Lee would have fearsome taijutsu ability to do so.

"I want to learn from him."

_Wait, say what?_ Uchiha or not, learning from someone who screamed 'Springtime of Youth' constantly, was not a torture that Tenten wanted anyone to be put through. She was already suffering, and it had only been a few months with the boy, and she already couldn't stand the sunset genjutsu that Lee and Gai-sensei had created when they hugged.

"Are you sure, Uchiha-san? Lee is…overly, erm, eccentric and maybe you're more suited as a ninjutsu specialist, I mean, weren't all the Uchiha's great at Katons?"

Uchiha growled, and Tenten took a nervous step back from the counter, fearing that she had crossed the line for something. "Why does everyone believe that I should be wielding flashy ninjutsu and blowing Katon fireballs all over the place? Can't an Uchiha just be a medic and heal people? I only want some sort of taijutsu form and some training from a senbon-user for my defence!"

Some of the anxiety receded and anticipation too its place when Tenten heard the word 'senbon'. "You want to use senbon? I think I can help you with that! I totally want some sort of sparring partner, and you can learn from me in the meantime!"

"I'll only do so if you let me get some taijutsu training from Lee." He smirked, and Tenten fumed. Why that little prick, blackmailing her! She only wanted to protect him from the horror that were the Green Beasts of Konoha, yet he ploughs on ahead, heedless of consequences. _Well then,_ she grumbled, _let him suffer and he'll realise his tragic mistake soon enough._

* * *

><p>Sasuke's right eye gained a twitch, as he saw a boy in a disgusting green jumpsuit introduce himself as 'Rock Lee' with a grin that was intended to be plastered on a toothpaste advertisement. Tenten sure wasn't kidding when she mentioned his eccentricity.<p>

And the kid was insane. Sasuke wasn't certain where Lee had obtained such stamina from, but no one should be able to run all the way around Konoha fifty times, and still have the energy to complete three hundred push-ups with relative ease.

"You're Flames of Youth are diminished! We must relight them, and I believe that his jumpsuit will help you find your springtime! Another two hundred of those sit-ups, Lee!"

"Yosh, Gai-sensei! And if I can't do that, I'll run around the entire Fire Country on my hands!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Oh no, not the sunset mirage. _Hand, meet face. Repeat, repeat._ And please don't get him even started on the jounin sensei. It was like having two Lees around, and this one always talking about the usefulness of parading around in a green jumpsuit. Sasuke would be more willing to compete against Naruto in a ramen-eating contest.

Tenten and Neji almost simultaneously slapped a hand to their faces. Sasuke was suffering, and they were in misery by simply viewing such torture. Tenten almost felt sorry as Sasuke attempted, and failed to keep a stoic mask from turning into a face of fury. There were a lot of eye-twitching. She had to give it to the boy though; he had managed to last about as long as Neji originally had. Sasuke shot them a glare which clearly indicated that he wanted to get away from this pair as soon as possible. Tenten gave him a hand at it.

"Gai-sensei, I think you can call that off now. Sasuke still wants to learn the use of senbon from me, and we need time to do so."

Maito Gai nodded his assent and allowed Tenten to lead Sasuke, with visible relief on his face, to the usual grounds where there were posts for putting up targets with.

"Okay, I'll be teaching you how to hold the senbon first, but you'll be my target- uh, I mean my sparring partner for my practice afterwards…"

Sasuke paled as a suspicious gleam entered Tenten's eyes, and wondered if all the genins eventually became as twisted as the ones on Team Gai.

**-End of Arc 1-**

* * *

><p>Because my friend who was supposed to beta this chapter is currently available, I decided just to most this quickly. Here's the end of the first arc! I am so glad I actually did not give up! Kakashi and the preparation of the bell test will start us off for the next chapter, but I think I'll be unable to post that until a heap later. But I can try and get it written down earlier...maybe.<p>

Do you feel as if my style is wholly unsuited for writing humor? Or did I overload Gai and Lee with the phrases of 'Springtime of Youth'? And do you like the personality I've given Tenten? I actually only saw her in one episode from Shippuden, so I'm kind of making her characteristic up.

The Naruto franchise belongs to TV Tokyo and Masashi Kishimoto. **Medic-nin!Sasuke is inspired by Aoi24.** I do not own the aforementioned things. However, the story belongs to me.

Word count: 1,161  
>Total word count: 4,593<p> 


End file.
